DIY: Print your favorite image on your t-shirt at home! Super easy and fun!

Hello Dearies,

Hope you all are doing excellent!

I am back with another DIY which you all will love! Ever wondered how we can easily transform our boring plain t-shirt to a funky or cute printed one? Well, I can tell you how. I was browsing through the Disney store and stumbled upon these adorable cute t-shirts and sweatshirts with Disney characters imprinted on them. I thought to myself, why not try printing them on one of my t-shirts which has been lying around in one corner of my wardrobe just because it is plain and boring. I love cartoons! I love to have them everywhere - on my bed sheets, pillow covers, t-shirts, bags, mugs, everywhere! (This would be quite evident once you see all pics in this post) Today I will be sharing a simple technique of transforming your t-shirts or any fabric for that matter, in short customizing them according to what you would love to have on them. So let's get started.

Read on to find out more.


Things you will need:

1. T-shirt inkjet transfer paper (I got this from eBay. You can buy it from here. They cost me 550 for 2 packets. It is a combo of 2 packets with 5 sheets each so you get 10 sheets in total. It is available on Flipkart as well but shipping is limited to few locations) This one is for light fabrics only. These sheets work only with Inkjet printer. There are various brands but I could find only GoColor ones online.
2. Scissors.
3. Plain t-shirt,handkerchief, cap, shorts, cloth-covered mouse pad, cotton napkins, etc. whatever you wish to print on :) I used a yellow t-shirt but the prints would come out better on white ones.
4. Iron.
5. Last but not the least an image of your choice on your computer and an Inkjet printer. 

So let's start customizing a plain t-shirt.

Procedure:

Step 1: Printing on the transfer paper.

The paper has 2 sides- one is glossy and other is plain white. Remember to print on plain white side! This is very important! DO NOT print on glossy side.
This is what i did before printing:
-Insert image in Microsoft word
-Go to format and click on Rotate and select Flip Horizontal. This will mirror your image so that when you imprint on your t shirt, the image will come up correctly.

Alternatively you can select Mirror option while printing.
Print on the plain white side of the paper using your Inkjet printer. Make sure to print on normal paper before this to ensure the placement and colors of your image.

Step 2: Transferring the image on the fabric.

Make sure that the fabric is washed before using it. It has to be completely dry.

Cut out the image on the sides leaving a few cm paper on the border.

-Preheat the iron at max temperature.
-Keep the t shirt on a plain hard surface. I did this on the floor by placing the t-shirt over a newspaper.
-You can stick a tape on one side to ensure that it stays put.
-Iron the t shirt to make it plain and remove creases.

-Place the paper upside down (i.e. the image touching the t-shirt)

-Place the hot iron on the paper and slightly move the iron from one corner to the other.
-Keeping pressing with equal amount of pressure and keep moving the iron for 2 minutes.
-Do not worry if the paper turns brown. That shows that it is doing its job well :)

Step 3: Peeling off the paper.

Once the iron is pressed on for 2 minutes, peel off the paper from one end while it is still hot in a non stop jerk motion.

Voila!! you are done! you will see that the image has successfully transferred to your t-shirt. Isn't it amazing?

I imprinted Hello Kitty on my handkerchief :)

Washing instructions: 
Wash fabric inside out after using this technique.
Do not tumble dry.
Iron only on the reverse and not on the print.
To revitalize the color, you can cover the picture with a plain grease proof paper, iron for few seconds and peel off the paper while it is still hot.

Procedure and care instructions are also given behind the transfer paper packet.

The print does not budge even after couple of washes and does not crack or bleed if the washing instructions are followed as mentioned.

You can use this technique to imprint images on t-shirts, caps, pillow covers, napkins, bags etc. This is an amazing personalized gift idea as you can make a photo collage and imprint that as well. You can imprint letters to convey your message. This and so much more. Sky is the limit when it comes to putting your imagination and creativity at work. 

The only con is that you cannot print very large images because the paper is A4 size and hence limits the size of image you can accommodate.

I am thinking of printing images on my bag, pillow cases and bed-sheets with these transfer papers. You can save on so much you won't believe. I had seen a Disney t-shirt for 1600 INR and I made mine for 200 (plain t-shirt) + 10 rs (printing charge because I have b/w printer at home) + 55 (550/10 cost of each sheet) = 265 INR :D *happy dance*

This is a very easy and fun DIY. I love it so much because I get to decide what I want on my t-shirt without spending a lot of money.

How did you girls find this DIY? Have you ever tried transfer papers to imprint your fabrics? Do share your thoughts via comments.

Take Care,

Love,
Mayuri